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Chapter 4 - Hazard Recognition, Assessment and Control Hazard recognition and identification Five Categories of Hazards 1. People a. Human factor i. When a person causes an accident by: 1. Commission (doing something) 2. Poor judgment, or 3. Omission (failing to do something) b. Unsafe act i. A deviation from standard job procedures or practices that increases a worker’s exposure to a hazard. Incidents involving humans are referred to as unsafe acts. c. A human action that may cause an immediate event of any type, and over which the person has control, is considered a direct, unsafe act (sometimes referred to as a substandard practice). An example would be improper modifications to a respirator used in a paint booth to allow a cigarette to be smoked through the filter cassette. An indirect, unsafe act is one in which the human action is only indirectly involved. -

Through the human factor (poor judgement, doing something or failing to do), unsafe acts and substandard practices eg improper modification to a respirator to allow cigarette to be smoked.

2. Equipment a. Under certain conditions or situations, the tools, machines, or equipment people use and work near can be hazardous b. Examples of equipment that can be hazardous: i. Defective tools (broken ladder) and unguarded moving machinery (unguarded saw blades in a butcher shop) 3. Environment a. Improper illumination—Too dark or too much glare b. Poor exhaust or ventilation systems—The toxic vapours from a process hang in the air rather than being removed c. Adverse temperature conditions—Working around a furnace on a hot summer day d. Poor indoor air quality—Odours and stuffiness Some hazards can be created by the work environment and can be either naturally occurring (e.g., weather in outdoor work environments) or the result of an unsafe condition caused by poorly maintained equipment, tools, or facilities. Environmental factors, which encompass sources of hazards like physical, chemical, biological factors, and ergonomic factors, can play a direct or indirect role in incidents. For example, physical factors such as noise, vibration, illumination, and temperature extremes have an obvious relation to safety and exist within certain work environments. 4. Materials

a. Any workplace substance, matter, or provisions used for production that have the potential to cause harm or loss especially if handled i. For instance, certain cleaning materials such as ammonia and bleach should never be mixed together because the mixture results in a toxic chemical reaction Examples of materials include supplies and raw materials such as wood within a carpentry shop, dry cleaning chemicals, paint, or cleaning chemicals. When materials are improperly handled or misused or if the wrong materials are used during production, they can become a hazard or create hazardous conditions. Ensuring the proper handling and use of workplace materials is very important and requires training (e.g., WHMIS training). 5. Processes a. When combining people, equipment, environment, and materials with the purpose of production of a good or service a process is involved b. Involve the flow of work and include factors such as design, pace, and organization of the various types of work via policies, procedures, and work processes Work processes can result in various hazardous by-products when combined with people, equipment, environment, and materials. While the objects and equipment in and of themselves are types of hazards, when combined with using a poor process or procedure then the process or procedure itself is a hazard.

Hazards identification programs 1. Task and Job Inventory – HR assists by providing job description and specification – Job description - The content and hierarchy specific to a particular job – Job specification - The requirements necessary to perform the various functions of the job – Then task analysis is done to examine job’s diff components like task, no of workers. The analysis will identify demands from worker, error, stress, potential hazards 2. Audits and Reports – Review of reports • Filed after an incident, accident, or injury or as part of a safety inspection • Provide valuable information on hazards – Audit information • Reviewing records of all injuries, accidents, incidents, workplace design changes, and environmental sampling • Useful source for cataloguing hazards – Computers to store, analyze, and report on hazards and incidents • Facilitates identification of hazards by type or department 3. Hazard Analysis

– Orderly, analytical technique that examines a system for most probable hazards having the severest consequences – In order to Establish corrective or control mechanisms – Most common type of hazard analysis: Analytical tree: 2 types of that – Positive Tree • Illustration of how job should be done – Fault Tree • Illustration of things that can go wrong •

Risk Assessment – Risk - Probability of an injury harm or loss – Probability - Chance or likelihood that an event will occur – Consequences - Severity of the injury, harm, or loss

Types of injuries (e.g. RSI) • Injury: Any trauma, physical or mental, direct or indirect, acute or chronic, experienced by a human being 2types: 1. Over traumatic injuries - Injuries (cuts, fractures, burn) resulting from coming into contact with an energy source. Eg falling, being stuck in a material. - Most common accident: coming into contact with equip - Another form: CIUB- (caught in, under, between) machinery - Other forms: falls, contact with energy source like chemical/electrical burn. o Examples:  Struck by overhead falling objects  Drop materials on themselves, resulting in crush injuries  Caught in, under, or between (CIUB) machinery  Falls  Contact with sources of energy such as electricity, chemicals, and heat - To prevent: (1) recognize source (2) eliminate hazard (3) protect workers from exposure to source 2. Overexertion injuries - Injuries resulting from excessive physical effort, repetitive motions, and, possibly, awkward working positions. Eg sprains, back pain, carpal tunnel – Basic causes: • Lifting • Working in an awkward position  Repetition 3. RSI: Repetitive Strain Injury - Becoming the most common occupational injury - Origins of RSI:

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Unnatural joint position or posture: If joint is forced to work in unnatural or stressed position Force application to hinge joints: When lifting while bent, wrist joint can begin to ache and repetition of the activity can result in a loss of strength Activity repetition: Keyboarding or using a hammer involve a repetitive flexing of fingers and wrists Pre-existing conditions: Arthritis and circulation disorders can have a synergistic effect on RSI conditions Awkward Working Positions – Strains and sprains can result from: • bending, twisting, and working in a variety of awkward positions – Should not reach below the knees or raise arms above shoulder for any length of time – Design of workstations and work procedures so that individuals work in a comfortable position

Hazard identification (ergonomic, situational, human, and environmental) 4 factors for identifying hazards:  Ergonomic factor: design workplaces to match physical & behavioral characteristics of   

the worker. Human factor: UNSAFE ACT - When an accident is caused by a person's poor judgement (doing or not doing something) Situational factor: UNSAFE CONDITIONS When a company fails to provide the proper equipment, tools, facilities, etc. Environmental factor: Anything concerning the ambient that may contribute to a hazard. (e.g. toxic gas, high noise, vibration, etc)

Hazard Control - Program or process used to establish preventive and corrective measure - Goal of hazard control: eliminate hazard, if not possible, reduce exposure or point of contact to manage hazards to prevent injuries or loss Precontact, point of contact, postcontact control – Three levels of intervention • Precontact control: addressing issue before accident/incident occurs • Point of contact control: manage hazard at the point of contact with worker, eg using PPE to prevent direct exposure to source or worsen condition • Post-contact control: manage escalation of incident so further harm doesn’t occur; Putting in place medical and cleanup operations and ensuring that the event cannot be repeated

1. Pre-contact - First method of controlling hazards by preventing hazards from reaching individuals within the workplace

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Using methods such as isolation, housekeeping, safe work policies and procedures, machine guarding, and replacing or retrofitting hazardous equipment Precontact control of hazards involves various engineering, administrative, and personal protective equipment–based controls It is important that organizations consult with their provincial occupational health and safety act and regulations because many precontact controls are legislated When pre-contact measures are not feasible or practical given the work environ, employer must engage in point-of-contact

Point of contact Many fall under engineering, administrative, and PPE Ensure that workers and emergency crews (e.g., firefighters) are not added to injury list Steps can be grouped into five categories:  Suppression: reduce/eliminate on going hazard by standard firefighting practices  Barriers: installed between workers and source to keep unauthorized ppl out  Modifications: identify and modify equipment eg strengthen to prevent future accidents  Substitution: replace with safer devices/ substitutes; eg powder instead of liquid  Isolation: isolate area of source from other ppl/workers

3. Post contact Steps in the aftermath of an event: - Ensure any injured worker receives immediate and thorough emergency care/first aid - Lock out machinery involved until accident investigation is complete and damage is repaired - Keep unauthorized people out of area - Determine what can be salvaged and what waste must be disposed of - Apprise JHSC, affected managers, and government agencies - Complete all accident reports to determine what happened - Review all company procedures and revise where appropriate - Communicate with workers about the event; retrain for safety, trauma counselling.

Hazard Control – elimination, engineering, administrative, PPE, personal hygiene, medical surveillance, etc a) Engineering control - First and most preferred way to deal with hazards is elimination, this is 2nd best - Modification of work processes, redesign equipment, and materials to reduce exposure to hazards - Also installation of auxiliary equipment, such as physical barriers and ventilation systems

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Should be built into work itself Substitution, ventilation, isolation; process modification (manner in which work is done); machine guarding (move machinery)

b) Administrative controls Management involvement Training of employees Rotation of employees Environmental sampling Medical surveillance • Examples: • Safety awareness programs • Awards and incentive programs • Housekeeping programs • Preventive maintenance • Development of policies and training modules for unique situations such as confined space entry c) Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Not always possible to fully protect individuals by applying engineering and administrative controls Clothing, helmets, goggles, and other devices to protect individual from specific hazards Least preferred means of controlling hazards “Backup” to other methods of control; Should never be sole means of protecting workers from hazards -ves. Safety goggles or glasses can steam up on a hot day, and workers may find them uncomfortable. Hearing protection can make it difficult to converse with coworkers. Moreover, workers can simply forget. Individuals may opt for “style” that reduces the effectiveness of some PPE. d) Source-Path-human controls Hazards can be controlled or eliminated by identifying and attacking the: a. Source of the hazard b. Path it travels c. Employee or recipient of the hazard

Safety awareness, monitoring/auditing, record keeping, Source Path Human a) Safety awareness - Programs to inform workers about health and safety issues and their importance. Eg public awareness campaigns - Visible reminders: posters - Special events: national safe driving week

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Awards and incentives

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Record keeping Information obtained at all stages of hazard control process should be stored in a database Records identify frequency of events as well as trends in hazards Information on worker training and equipment maintenance Records on individual employees should be kept for as long as that individual is with the company. In some cases (e.g., individual records of exposure to radiation) records may have to be kept for the length of employment plus an additional period (e.g., 10 years).

c) Monitoring/auditing Monitoring: Important part of hazard control Audits: Ensure hazard controls are functioning effectively and identify new hazards •

Audit program should: – Ensure safety programs are carried out without restrictions – Ensure safety programs are up to date and deficiencies documented – Be carried out by people with understanding of both audit methods and material being examined – Stimulate discussion among all managers and workers, and ultimately produce conclusions and recommendations – Be conducted annually by high-risk hazards companies – Include all documentation (e.g., WSIB/WCB statements, Ministry of Labour citations

* Personal hygiene * Medical surveillance (e.g. of hearing aid at noisy workplace) given in class Key Terms - Hazard: any object, action, or condition that can be a source of potential adverse health effect, damage, or harm to people, processes or equipment within the workplace

- Hazard analysis: an orderly, analytical technique that examines a system for the most probable hazards having the severest consequences for the purpose of establishing corrective or control mechanisms (list in order for severity and frequency) - Injury: any trauma, physical or mental, direct or indirect acute or chronic, experienced by a human being - Hazard control: the program or process used to establish preventive and corrective measures, Three levels of intervention *Pre-contact control * Point of contact control * Post contact control...